False eyelash applicator

ABSTRACT

A hand-held device having a blunt, slightly concave blade at one end adapted to hold down an eyelid by its lashes and a pair of finger-operated grippers adapted to advance a false eyelash to the eyelid for adhesion thereto.

United States Patent 1 Epstein 1541 FALSE EYELASH APPLICATOR [76] Inventor: Norman Epstein, R.D. No. 2, Carmel, NY.

221 Filed: Aug. 21, 1968 211 Appl. No.: 754,240

[52] US. Cl. ..l32/88.7, 132/32 C [51] Int. Cl. ..A45d 40/26 [58] Field of Search .....l32/3l.2, 32.3, 88.7; 401/31,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Tuttle et al. ..132/3l.2

[ Mar. 27, 1973 2,411,519 11/1946 Byron ..l32/32.3

Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner.l. N. Eskovitz Attorney-Burgess, Ryan and Wayne 57 ABSTRACT A hand-held device having a blunt, slightly concave blade at one end adapted to hold down an eyelid by its lashes and a pair of finger-operated grippers adapted to advance a false eyelash to the eyelid for adhesion thereto.

3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEUHARNIM I 5 9.-

INVE TOR 4 0074 ,pJr

FALSE EYELASH APPLICATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION False eyelashes are now in use having a flexible backing cord from which a fringe of imitation hairs protrudes. These eyelashes are designed to be attached to the eyelid above the true lashes by means of an adhesive which is spread on the backing cord. The adhesive sticks to the skin on contact therewith. The user of the false eyelash thus has the initial task of properly applying the adhesive to the backing cord, and then of properly positioning the eyelash in place. The latter task especially may be difficult, as the user must view the operation in a mirror, with the usualleft-to-right reversal of direction associated with the use of mirrors, and with one eye closed. In addition, it is desirable to place the false eyelash properly on the first try, if possible, in order to avoid the loss of the adhesive from the backing cord to the true eyelashes or to areas of the lid remote from the proper position of the backing cord.

SUMMARY The invention is a simple, lightweight applicator suitable for holding in one hand. It has a working end in the form of a slightly concave blunt edge or blade, sized so that it may be slipped down over the surface of a closed upper eyelid, trapping the true lashes against the cheek just below the eye. In this position the blunt edge follows closely the curved line along which the true eyelashes meet the upper lid. A pair of hooked grippers are mounted adjacent to the blunt edge or blade and are shaped to grasp the backing cord of the false eyelash. The grippers normally hold the backing cord away from the blunt edge in a position which is convenient for the application of adhesive and in which it cannot contact the eyelid. Once the blunt edge has been positioned on the eyelid, the grippers may be slid forward in grooves by pressure from a finger of the user. When thus moved the grippers advance the false eyelash into place on the eyelid, where it adheres.

The invention allows the user to immobilize the eyelid and to obtain just the correct position of the blunt edge, while holding the adhesive-laden false eyelash in a safe retracted position where it cannot touch any part of the lid or true eyelash. The user can then advance the false eyelash, one end at a time if she so desires, and place it in exactly the selected position, with no need to readjust it. The hooked grippers are so shaped, and their path of motion so contrived, that when in the retracted position they hold the backing cord firmly pinched against the body of the applicator. As they advance, however, they lift away from the body of the applicator, freeing the false eyelash so that it may adhere to the eyelid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING:

FIG. 1 is a view of the eyelash applicator seen from above;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the eyelash applicator;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the eyelash applicator;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on plane 4-4 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial view of the top of the eyelash applicator showing a false eyelash in a retracted position;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view taken on plane 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the applicator in use with the grippers in a retracted position; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to that of FIG. 7, but with the grippers in an advanced position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

The applicator 10 has a handle section 1 1 adapted to fit the hand of the user. Attached to the handle as a continuation thereof is an operating section adapted to contact the eyelid and to hold the false eyelash. The operating section is comprised of a blade 12 having a blunt or rounded blade edge 13 of concave profile as viewed from above (as in FIG. 1). The blade edge is also hollowed out below, as may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, so that the blade edge when viewed on end is curved upward at the center.

The blade as described above is adapted to be gently dragged or slid down over the surface of a closed upper eyelid until it lies along the lower margin of the eyelid where the true lashes are attached. The lashes may be pressed by the underside of the bladeagainst the skin 14 overlying the cheek bone which forms the lower portion of the eye socket. This bone forms a stable fulcrum of sorts, aiding the user in precisely positioning the blade edge on the eyelid. For example, if the blade is initially placed too high up on the eyelid so that excess skin is bunched up beneath it, a small amount of practice will enable the user to rock the applicator about this fulcrum and thereby release part of the pressure on the lid. The eyelid muscles can then pull the lid upward slightly past the blade edge until the lower margin is in contact with the blade edge. Further, by trapping the true eyelashes against the skin 14 covering the cheek bone, the underside 15 of the blade immobilizes the lid margin should the user experience an in voluntary or careless twitch of the lid. The concave underside 15 of blade 12 together with the concave shape of blade edge 13 is adapted to contact the spherical surface of the closed upper lid when the applicator is in the slanted position relative to the face illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The blade is provided with a pair of reciprocable grippers 16. These are of hooklike shape in the embodiment disclosed and are mounted on the outer ends of pushrods 17. Each pushrod is mounted in a passage 18 bored through the blade in a direction substantially perpendicular to the blade edge 13. The inner end of each pushrod is fastened to a reciprocable button 19 which extends through the handle from its upper to its lower surface. The buttons are confined within longitudinally extending slots 20 which are cut through the handle. By means of the buttons and pushrods the grippers 16 may be moved between a retracted position as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7, and an extended or advanced position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8.

The grippers 16 are adapted to hold the backing cord 25 of a false eyelash. As may best be seen in FIG. 6, the blade 12 has an upper surface 21 which slopes upward away from the blade edge 13, relative to the plane of the pushrods 17. Therefore, as the pushrods retract the grippers the latter elements pinch the backing cord 25 between their concave under surfaces 22 and the upper surface 21 of the blade. This position is shown in FIG. 6. The false eyelash, when thus gripped, is held securely against movement. While it is thus held a bead 23 of adhesive may be applied to it, and it can be temporarily set aside with the applicator, or moved to the users eyelid.

When the user desires to attach the eyelash the blade edge may be properly positioned in the manner set forth above, contacting the eyelid as shown in FIG. 7. During this procedure the backing cord 25 with the bead 23 of adhesive is held back away from the eyelid, so that none of the adhesive is lost and none is smeared on the lid or true lashes.

When the blade has been properly placed the user advances the lash toward the eyelid by pushing buttons 19 toward the blade. For this operation the forefinger may be used against the upper ends of the buttons, or the thumb against the lower ends. The buttons may be advanced together or one at a time. In the latter case the false eyelash will contact the eyelid at one end first, and then along its length. This technique is sometimes helpful in achieving exact placement.

FIG. 8 shows the situation as the grippers have advanced the backing cord into contact with the eyelid. As the grippers move toward the blade edge they cease to grip the backing cord firmly since they no longer pinch it between their under surface 22 and the upper surface 21 of the blade 12. As these surfaces separate, the gripper serves only to push the backing cord against the eyelid, without preventing its separation from th applicator when the latter is withdrawn.

As may be seen in FIG. 5, false eyelashes are comprised of a multiplicity of hairs 24 which project in a common plane from the backing cord 25. It has been found that the grippers 16 may advantageously be rather thin as seen from above (as in FIGS. 1 and so that they may pass between adjacent hairs to contact the backing cord without bending or breaking said hairs.

The following is claimed:

1. An applicator for false eyelashes having a backing comprising:

a. a handle;

b. a blade secured to said handle having a blunt, concave edge extending substantially at right angles to the axis of the handle;

0. an upper surface on the blade;

d. surfaces defining a slot in the blade, said slot extending substantially perpendicularly to the blade edge;

e. gripper means including a hook-shaped gripper movably mounted in the slot between a retracted position and an advanced position, said. gripper being adapted to pinch the backing of the false eyelash against the upper surface on the blade when in the retracted position and thereby to hold the false eyelash immovably in a position away from the blade edge, and said gripper moving away from the upper surface as it moves toward the advanced position, said gripper when in the advanced position being adapted to hold the false eyelash in a position adjacent the blade edge for contact with an eyelid;

f. control means on said applicator for moving the gripper from the retracted position to the advanced position at the will of the user of the applicator.

The applicator of claim 1 wherein the control means comprise a slidable finger button attached to the gripper and mounted between the handle and the blade edge.

3. An applicator for false eye-lashes comprising:

a. an elongated handle;

b. a blade attached to one end of the handle;

c. a blunt concave blade edge on the blade, said blade edge being bowed upward at the center and having a radius of concavity approximately the same as the radius of the lower margin of a closed eyelid and being approximately as long as the margin of a closed eyelid;

. an upper surface on the blade;

e. surfaces defining a gripper channel at each end of the blade edge, each said gripper channel extending down from the upper surface and back from the blade edge toward the handle;

f. a gripper in each gripper channel, each said gripper comprising a hook extending from the gripper channel above the upper surface, the concave portion of said hook facing the blade edge and the tip of the hook bending over above the upper surface;

g. surfaces defining a pair of button receiving channels in the handle;

h. a pair of operating buttons, each mounted for reciprocation in a button receiving channel toward and away from the blade edge, and each extending externally of the handle;

i. surfaces defining bores, each bore extending from a gripper channel to a button-receiving channel;

j. a pushrod slidably mounted in each bore, each pushrod connecting one of said grippers to one of said buttons for reciprocation between a retracted position and an extended position, the gripper moving closer to the upper surface of the blade as it approaches the retracted position, whereby it is adapted to cooperate with said surface in grasping a falsh eyelash, the gripper when in the retracted position being spaced from the blade edge and when in the extended position being at said blade edge whereby a false eyelash held in the gripper when the gripper is in the extended position is positioned to contact an eyelid which is in contact with the blade edge. 

1. An applicator for false eyelashes having a backing comprising: a. a handle; b. a blade secured to said handle having a blunt, concave edge extending substantially at right angles to the axis of the handle; c. an upper surface on the blade; d. surfaces defining a slot in the blade, said slot extending substantially perpendicularly to the blade edge; e. gripper means including a hook-shaped gripper movably mounted in the slot between a retracted position and an advanced position, said gripper being adapted to pinch the backing of the false eyelash against the upper surface on the blade when in the retracted position and thereby to hold the false eyelash immovably in a position away from the blade edge, and said gripper moving away from the upper surface as it moves toward the advanced position, said gripper when in the advanced position being adapted to hold the false eyelash in a position adjacent the blade edge for contact with an eyelid; f. control means on said applicator for moving the gripper from the retracted position to the advanced position at the will of the user of the applicator.
 2. The applicator of claim 1 wherein the control means comprise a slidable finger button attached to the gripper and mounted between the handle and the blade edge.
 3. An applicator for false eye-lashes comprising: a. an elongated handle; b. a blade attached to one end of the handle; c. a blunt concave blade edge on the blade, said blade edge being bowed upward at the center and having a radius of concavity approximately the same as the radius of the lower margin of a closed eyelid and being approximately as long as the margin of a closed eyelid; d. an upper surface on the blade; e. surfaces defining a gripper channel at each end of the blade edge, each said gripper channel extending down from the upper surface and back from the blade edge toward the handle; f. a gripper in each gripper channel, each said gripper comprising a hook extending from the gripper channel above the upper surface, the concave portion of said hook facing the blade edge and the tip of the hook bending over above the upper surface; g. surfaces defining a pair of button receiving channels in the handle; h. a pair of operating buttons, each mounted for reciprocation in a button receiving channel toward and away from the blade edge, and each extending externally of the handle; i. surfaces defining bores, each bore extending from a gripper channel to a button-receiving channel; j. a pushrod slidably mounted in each bore, each pushrod connecting one of said grippers to one of said buttons for reciprocation between a retracted position and an extended position, the gripper moving closer to the upper surface of the blade as it approaches the retracted position, whereby it is adapted to cooperate with said surface in graspiNg a falsh eyelash, the gripper when in the retracted position being spaced from the blade edge and when in the extended position being at said blade edge whereby a false eyelash held in the gripper when the gripper is in the extended position is positioned to contact an eyelid which is in contact with the blade edge. 